Apply to Perform
Musicians: this is your moment to self-organize a Biophony performance with your fellow artists. Learn all about the application process below.
Application Updates
August 14, 2024 (10am ET) — All available performance time slots for Biophony Pop-Up NYC 2024 are currently reserved. Join our 2024 waitlist and we’ll be in touch if any performance time slots become available.
August 7, 2024 (5pm ET) — Applications for Biophony Pop-Up NYC 2024 are now availble, first come, first serve. Questions? Feel free to contact us. We’re happy to help.
Quick Links
Here’s easy access to important steps in the application process. Some links require a passcode that will be provided by the Metropolis team after you complete Step 2 (below).
Step 1
What to Expect
Please review the basic guidelines you and your colleagues can expect to follow during your Biophony experience.
Questions about the guidelines or policies? Contact Andrew on the Metropolis team.
TIP: Share this page with your fellow artists who want to participate.
What’s New for 2024
Here’s what’s updated and different in Biophony Pop-Up NYC 2024:
This year’s series will take place over five weekends (Saturdays and Sundays) from August 31—September 29.
In order to bring performances to more neighborhoods across the city, we are limiting the available NYC Department of Transportation approved locations (open streets and pedestrian plazas) to one concert per neighborhood. There are a total of 30 available neighborhoods with an average of 2-3 locations to choose from per neighborhood.
Artists can only participate as an event organizer and/or performer in a maximum of one event, due to the high response rate and in order to allow for a diversity of participants.
We will schedule a maximum of two events per day, which allows our Biophony team to have enough time to get between locations for setup / teardown.
If weather cancels your performance, we will postpone to a rain date in early October. If your rain date is also cancelled due to weather, we will offer you a guaranteed spot in a future Biophony event (2025+).
Performers can select from all 40 commissioned works created in 2021-22 from our digital repository.
Participants will be paid $200; event organizers will be paid $250.
Review these additional guidelines and expectations:
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Here are upcoming deadlines for Biophony Pop-Up NYC 2024:
Thursday, August 15, 2024 (5pm ET)
Performance Date Request Form submission deadlineThursday, August 15, 2024 (5pm ET)
Performance Location spreadsheet deadlineTuesday, August 20, 2024 (5pm ET)
Event Details Organizing Form submission deadlineNo late entries will be accepted. If you have questions, contact us.
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When you organize your event, keep these guidelines in mind:
3–5 musicians can participate in each ensemble; max 5 artists per group; any instrumentation acceptable.
1 hour minimum duration for your performance (not including setup / teardown).
30 minutes setup is recommended for ensembles to prepare for their concert.
1 event maximum allowed for artists to propose and/or participate in. This is due to the high response rate and in order to allow for a diversity of participants.
40 existing scores are available to choose from in our digital repository once your event is approved.
Please note that not every proposed event can be accepted due to budget limits.
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If you need to cancel your Biophony Pop-Up NYC event, please follow our cancellation policy:
Scheduling Conflict: If you or your fellow performers have a calendar issue, please contact the Metropolis team as soon as possible, and no less than 48 hours before your event.
Illness Cancellation: If you or your fellow performers are sick or have a positive Covid test, please contact the Metropolis team as soon as possible. If you can find a replacement player, we can keep the existing performance in place.
Weather Cancellation: If the weather forecast is inclement in the 12 hours before your event (and makes it impossible to safely play) — or if the weather turns poorly during setup or your performance, we will postpone your event to the rain dates (October 5-6 or 12-13). If that postponed date also has to cancel due to weather, we will offer you a guaranteed spot in a future Biophony event (2025+).
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$200 per participating performer (maximum of 1 event).
$250 per event organizer (maximum of 1 event, which includes the responsibility of working through the steps outlined on this page).
All payments for Biophony Pop-Up NYC 2024 will be made before October 31, 2024.
Please verify that you have submitted all participating artists’ names and emails to the Metropolis team to ensure payment can be made to you and your colleagues.
Step 2
Request a Date
DEADLINE: Thursday, August 15, 2024 (5pm ET)
To get started, please complete this form to request your preferred date to organize an upcoming Biophony performance.
NOTE: Artists can only propose and/or participate in a maximum of one event in September 2024.
Once you submit your requested date, our team will followup with you to confirm your performance and request additional details from you and your colleagues.
Need to cancel or reschedule your event? Open the Calendly email notification you received and click the link to make changes.
Still need support to cancel or reschedule your event? Contact Armistead on the Metropolis team.
TIP: Don’t forget to ask your colleagues if this date will work for their schedules.
Step 3
Select Your Location
DEADLINE: Thursday, August 15, 2024 (5pm ET)
If you are approved to create a Biophony performance, you need to decide where to host your performance, using the approved list of NYC Department of Transportation locations (open streets and pedestrian plazas).
We are limiting the 2024 series to one concert per neighborhood. There are a total of 30 available neighborhoods with an average of 2-3 locations to choose from per neighborhood. First come, first serve.
TIP: Weekend times vary by location. Some are only open Saturday or Sunday; some are limited to only afternoons. The spreadsheet has these available times listed so you can sync your scheduled performance to a location that is open.
Place your name on this spreadsheet:
Step 4
Organize Your Event
DEADLINE: Tuesday, August 20, 2024 (5pm ET)
If you are approved to create a Biophony performance, our team will need details about you and your colleagues so we can keep in touch with you, publish / promote your event online, and (most importantly) get you paid!
TIP: Explore our previous Biophony events so you can see how we display artist information.
Use this checklist:
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You and your colleagues need to decide what Biophony works you will perform together. These are flexible musical works for any combination of instruments at a variety of scales.
You will need to enter the passcode provided by the Metropolis team to access the files. Explore the repository »
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Double-check if any artists from your cohort already have a bio on our website and if it's up-to-date. If not, please gather the following artist info for your performance:
Name of each artist and their instrument
A short bio for each artist (including yourself), maximum of 5 sentences
A headshot photo of each artist (including yourself), using this file naming convention to help us keep organized: FirstnameLastname.jpg (for example (AndrewCyr.jpg)
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As the organizer of this performance, you are the primary contact point for Metropolis. We need your email and phone to help you prepare for the event and discuss plans on the day of your event (finding you, inclement weather, etc).
We also need email addresses for your colleagues so we can followup with them for payment.
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You need to gather at least one link for each artist including yourself (website, Bandcamp, SoundCloud, etc).
You also need to gather the social media usernames for each artist including yourself (Instagram and/or Facebook) so we can share your performance on social with you and your followers.
Step 5
Submit Your Details
DEADLINE: Tuesday, August 20, 2024 (5pm ET)
Now it’s time to send all the details you’ve gathered with your colleagues so our team can publish and promote your event.
Questions about the submission form? Contact Armistead on the Metropolis team.
TIP: Gather all the materials you need to upload (bios, photos, contact info, etc) before you start filling out the form.
Step 6
Prepare for Your Day
Please review these suggestions to make your Biophony performance go smoothly for everyone.
Your Biophony Event Specialist, Horacio Fernández, will meet you at the confirmed performance location 30 minutes prior to your event.
Questions / troubleshooting about your event location? Contact Horacio on the Metropolis team.
Review these suggestions:
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Here’s how you can make your Biophony performance a success:
Once you have a confirmed date / time / location, the Metropolis team will provide text and images for you and your colleagues to post on social, email to friends, or add to your website.
We will also provide a URL for your event so you can invite friends and neighbors to attend.
If you want to promote your event to local businesses, we have poster PDFs you can download, print, and distribute.
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Make sure you’re ready for any weather:
Metropolis doesn’t provide a pop-up tent or umbrellas, and most NYC DOT locations don’t allow these shelters.
Review our cancellation policy (top of this page) regarding weather postponement. Our available rain dates are October 5-6 or 12-13. We will work with you to make this as smooth a process as possible.
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Plan to arrive 30 minutes early to setup / prepare for your event.
All performances are acoustic. No amplification, no power, no microphones / wires will be provided. And electrical outlets are unavailable at NYC DOT locations. If you need to bring a device it must be battery powered.
Plan to bring any folding seating and music stands that you and your colleagues need for the performance. These will not be provided.
Metropolis will setup a “sandwich board” that promotes the series and introduces visitors to your performance.
Our team will document excerpts from the performance to share on social media and our website. We encourage you to share any performance or “behind-the-scenes” videos / photos with Metropolis so we can include them online.
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We want to hear from you:
Please promptly reply to emails and texts from the Metropolis team so we can help make your event a success. We will commit to the same!
Don’t forget to bring your phone to the performance location so we can help locate you!
Reach out with any questions, big or small. We’re here to help and improve the Biophony onboarding and performance experience for everyone.
Meet Your Biophony Event Specialist
Horacio Fernández composes classical music by day and writes pop songs by night. He is a Mexican artist that engages diverse audiences in both the concert stage and online, where he makes music for an audience of thousands. He is currently completing his master's degree at The Juilliard School. He has received commissions by Albany Symphony, the New Juilliard Ensemble, collaborated with esteemed artists such as Zlatomir Fung, the Oregon Symphony, David Allan Miller, Tony Glausi and is currently producing music for several promising young artists in the Latin music scene.
Step 7
Followup on Your Event
After your performance, make sure you follow these steps to get you and your colleagues paid.
Questions about your invoice / payment? Contact Jenna on the Metropolis team.
TIP: Online payments will be made using artists’ email addresses.
Event Organizers: Please use this form to begin the payment process for you and your colleagues.
Event Participants: Please use this form to complete your invoice so you can get paid.
Meet Your Biophony Support Team
Don’t hesitate to reach out with any questions, big or small. We are here for you!
Armistead / Web and Schedule Questions
Andrew / Performance and Music Questions
Jenna / Invoicing and Payments Questions
